Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death...

     In March 15 Associated Press article, "Things are bleak in journalism", writer David Bauder points out that, though newspapers are dying out and the mediums of reporting are changing drastically, journalism is far from dead.

     In the Project for Excellence in Journalism's sixth annual State of the News Media report, it appears "bleak" for journalists everywhere. Print readership is lower than ever, newspaper corporations are filing bankruptcy one after another, and local television is facing serious drops in ratings; it seems that journalism may be in its final years.

     However, Bauder asserts that this is not necessarily the case. Though print journalism on its last legs, many papers have amassed more readers than ever when online readership is taken into account. As local TV ratings drop, cable news stations have seen a boom in the last few years. Such statistics illustrate that news itself is not dying out, but the means by which one gets it are changing forever.

     I come from a family of journalists. Both of my parents work for the Sacramento Bee, and, as a result, I have personally seen the impact of the changing news mediums. My parents and their colleagues have faced massive layoffs these last couple of years. Benefits have been taken away. Retirement has been wiped out. Even their cafeteria and library were shut down. Thankfully, both my parents have kept their jobs. Most of their friends, however, were either bought out or fired after, in some cases, decades of service to The Bee. For many of these unlucky individuals, this has been truly devastating.

     Despite this bleak professional landscape that stretches before me as I stand at the very beginning of my own journalism career, I am not afraid. As Bauder points out, the world still need journalists, and journalists must embrace the new ways to get the news to the world. My generation will be the one that embraces these changes. We have been primed from early ages to use computers religiously and to accept the internet with all its opportunities and complexities as an integral part of life. As a result, we, the new journalists, are ready to excel where other generations have not. Though the state of the news media may be bleak now, it will not be forever. For this reason, I am not afraid.